Wallace Koopmans Artlog

A few more images from my Seattle trip. 

What I have tried to do here is create a bit of tension visually.  By blocking half of the image, and obscuring the path beyond, we don’t know if there truly is a an oncoming cyclist as the sign states.  If we were to step out would we be struck?  Maybe I’m reaching a bit far here but that’s what I was trying for.

These photo’s are an example of repetition of form.  Graphically they use the same form, yes the pun is intended, in order to create a larger field.  The harmony is further enhanced by the monotone nature of the overall image.   Personally I prefer the last two images with their small touches of wood to contrast the concrete.

Some more images from my walk at the Golden Ears Bridge.  While these are pictures of the same subject you can see that by varying elements you can create entirely different impressions.

When you’re out photographing and you notice something interesting the first reaction may be to snap a picture, you wouldn’t be wrong.  The next reaction should be how can I make that better.  Questions such as camera settings and  where should I stand and how will that look need to be thought through.  It may come naturally to envision a scene from a different vantage point or it may come from practice.  Practice should take the form of thinking about how something will look from somewhere else and then going there and seeing for yourself.  Technically you don’t even need a camera it just requires actually thinking about what you are seeing around you.  Using a zoom lens gives more options but may actually hinder this type of creativity as it tends to make you stand where you are and try to frame a scene, rather than actively searching.

Here is an example.  I saw this scene and took an initial image.  I then noticed the curve of the shore and how the fence could make an interesting foreground element.  So I left the trail and headed for the beach.

And here is the image that resulted.  I did have to wait for the man trying to fly the parachute to get it airborne again and luckily this seagull was the bravest of them all and didn’t fly off.

I’ve taken a try at recreating the look that my Pentax K-7 generates using the digital reversal filter (slide filter).  It appears that it isn’t that simple a matter and that the processing may vary depending on the source image.  When optimized for one image it may produce different results on another.   It still makes an admiral effort and has a look all it’s own.

Original file

Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4 (Reversal)

Wallace’s Lightroom Reversal Preset.

You can see that while there is a close match in these images (blues and yellows are a bit of a problem) the results diverge even more on some real world images

Original Image

Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4 (reversal)

Wallace’s Lightroom reversal preset.

You can download this preset by right clicking and saving the target file to your computer.  You can also find out how to add this or any preset to Lightroom by doing a Google search.     Download Preset

I like the term Contre-jour it sounds more sophisticated than “Back lit” but really it does refer to photographs taken where the primary light source is behind the subject but not necessarily directly behind it as I have done here.

These images have me thinking about how often I use this technique, so I have just gone through some of my images to find other examples.  This is by no means all of them but based on the number of images I had to look through to find them I can safely say I’m not being repititious when I do take an image like this.

UPDATE:  Ok I found another one that I really like.  It’s funny because until I looked at it again I had forgotten how a friend and I had  rushed ahead so that I could capture this and we would still be able to make it back before dark.  Based on the date this was 19 years ago.

If you spent the last month doing what I did then you will know who you are.  Unfortunately I didn’t take the time to speak to anyone afterwords and I would have liked to, now that I’ve had a decent nights sleep and eaten a meal without garlic.  Please email me at wkoopmans@shaw.ca

If your reading this and you have no idea what I am talking about I’m sure I will post something new soon.

As far as piles of rubble go this one smells pretty good.  It has that aged wood smell of an old building only intensified by the fracturing and the light rain.  This  image  came about when the excavator was going to relocate so I moved to this side and placed my Pentax PC35AF against the fencing.  It’s difficult to ensure the fence doesn’t obscure the lens because it’s viewfinder is not through the lens, but with care and luck I was able to capture the moment that created this composition.

I recently had my Canon QL17 with me when  returning from a social function and I had two exposures left on the roll.  The other one is of  me driving so we will just leave that one where it is.  The other one is this one.  I waved at the security guards as I drove past, I think the shirt and tie confused them,  turned around took this exposure and drove away.  I have post processed this image but to be fare that is really to make it match better how I perceive it.  One thing about a camera it doesn’t record  how something makes you feel.  But even someone who doesn’t see this as a cold industrial edifice can’t help but be slightly swayed by the cool tones I’ve enhanced